Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Monday, August 9, 2010

Spicy Sugar Steaks

You don't see much on this site about steaks and it's not because we don't eat them - we certainly do. It's because my favorite steak, hands down, is a rib-eye, and to me they just don't need anything much. A quick dousing of Dale's, Country Bob's, or just plain ole Worcestershire sauce while it comes to room temperature for the grill, and that's about all I ever do most of the time. I don't even add salt or pepper to them, before or after, and no steak sauce or enhancements for this gal.

But my Sugar Steak is one exception.

I adore this rub and so does The Cajun. And while I know it seems odd to put sugar on a steak, trust me - it is some kind of good. I'm sure lots of you have heard of pork rib rubs with brown sugar, and a few of you might have seen sugar grilled steaks from people like Steven Raichlen, or maybe you've seen the mixes in the stores, but the truth is sugar steaks have been around for a long time, and even if you're pretty much a steak purist like me, I think you'll enjoy this for a change of pace.

A pretty good general purpose rub for burgers, chicken and pork chops too by the way, this has a nice Cajun bite to it, but if you prefer things a bit more on the milder side, you can eliminate the Cajun seasoning, and use regular chili powder instead of chipotle.

And yes, I know... there are no pretty crosshatch markings on my steak - though knowing I was going to photograph these for the blog I truly had intended to do that, and well, between having to add a new tank midstream and trying to grill between the thunderstorms, frankly, I didn't think about it. Seeing as I'm not in any way, shape or form a BBQ (as in slow smoke cooking and not the sauce) aficionado, honestly, I don't really worry about that all that much either. Eh, maybe next time - but don't count on it.

Place the steaks on a glass plate or platter. Combine all of the remaining ingredients and mix with a fork until well combined. Apply half of the rub mixture on one side of the steak. Turn and apply the remaining rub on the other side, applying some to the sides of the steak. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or overnight.

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LOL Justin - well, first we eat far more shrimp and chicken than we do steak but I'm not so sure a lot of folks would be interested in a blog recipe that says douse your steaks in Lea & Perrins, let sit 30 minutes and grill!

Let me know if you try them Anne & Kathleen! Enjoy.

LOL Pam, that is EXACTLY what I mean. :) My brain is usually pretty occupied with other things and making sure I don't burn the things!!

I like my steaks pretty plain too Mary-they're just so good on their own that they don't need much decoration! :)But your sugar steaks sound and look really good too, and I do use brown sugar in rubs for other cuts of meat I cook. Thanks for posting this Mary!

Sometimes they do Michelle - many times they don't even though they enjoyed a recipe. There is one comment above who came back to say they thought it was a great recipe, yay! I hope you enjoyed these - we sure do!

Mary, We are like you in not putting much on steaks, but this did sound so good I had to try it last night (was too full to come back & comment lol). Hubby had a cow when he saw me putting the sugar mixture on. This was a wonderful different way of having steak. It was so delicious, will definitely be making this again! Michelle

Yes, most of the time I just want "steak" but sometimes I have to have blue cheese with it, just to vary it up. This sweet steak was not that sweet, just had the hints of a little spicy/slightly sweet. Propane tank was empty so did it on the stovetop, caramelized nice & still kept it med rare. Cant wait to try this on the fire pit over oak, weather permitting or maybe not long as its not raining! Cant wait to try more of your recipes. If I could only buy crawfish here urghhhhhh

That's why I love this - that spicy sweet!! Don't feel too bad about the crawfish because honestly we mostly use the frozen tails around here ourselves anyway - Louisiana of course NOT imported. I enjoy a crawfish boil as much as the next person but they are buggers to peel for a recipe because you really need a lot of them to get one pound. I much rather enjoy those nice and spicy as freshly boiled, with an ice cold beer, and cook with the frozen tails. They sure aren't cheap though, so it's definitely more economical to cook and peel your own.

I found your site through Pinterest and I just had to try this recipe. I made it for 2 grown men, my 3 year old and myself. There wasn't a single piece of steak left after dinner! Everyone just raved about how good it was. Thank you so much for your great recipes!

I tried this rub over the weekend and I find myself telling people about it and encouraging them to try it! I know this will sound like hyperbole but, this was the most wonderful steak I have ever cooked! Thank you for sharing!!!

This was very good! I followed to a T except used pork chops, all I had. But if it was this great on chops, then I can't imagine how great it would be on a steak!!! I want to try using your shrimp suggestion next for this summer. Seems like something the whole family would love to devour after a hard day of relaxing in the pool, ha! Thanks again for helping me give my family a great meal to eat together while we chatted away about our day. I love that!

Hi, I wanna try this recipe. I've never, ever heard of sugar steaks...until now. But where can I find chipolte chili powder? I've never seen it. In case I don't find it, is there a substitute? Thanx for your response.

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